Highlights of the College Park Senate meeting on September 17, 2007

1. President Mote's Annual State of the Campus Address
   • Current state of campus is good
     • Recruited 99 new faculty last year (1/2 non-white, 1/3 women)
     • 6-year undergraduate graduation rate remains at 79%
     • Biosciences building finished, Journalism building begins construction in May, Physical sciences building next priority
     • Campus research funding up $60 million (16%) to $400 million/year, with $114 million from Engineering
     • School of Public Health will be forming September 26th
     • Donations reached $400 million, with $18 million from faculty & staff
     • Academic Ranking of World Universities places UMCP at 37th worldwide

   • Strategic plan for university
     • Deal with financial challenges (Maryland facing $1.5 billion deficit), additional financial resources unlikely
     • Working with state commission to develop model for funding higher education, strategic plan due next year
     • Must achieve strategic plan without depending on additional resources
     • Attempt to change campus culture to set higher standards of achievement
     • Focus on bold initiatives with high potential impact
     • Address quality of faculty, teaching, student success
     • 4 initiatives include top-class faculty, transform locale into "value-added" magnet, improve international studies and focus on skills needed by UMD graduates.
     • Promote inclusiveness as well as diversity on campus

2. Reports from Senate Committees
   • Senate Faculty Affairs Committee
     • Updated policy and procedures for suspension of faculty

Chau-Wen Tseng